


I Made This Home For You

by VisionaryGalaxy



Series: The Symphony of Our Catastrophe [17]
Category: X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Cute, Don't copy to another site, Drabble, Fluff and Angst, Gay Mutant Road Trip, M/M, Nightmares, Protective Erik Lehnsherr, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2019-07-06
Packaged: 2020-06-22 04:55:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19660258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VisionaryGalaxy/pseuds/VisionaryGalaxy
Summary: Erik has nightmares. Charles can help with that.





	I Made This Home For You

It was late and Erik found himself sitting up in the dingy motel room, staring intently at the door. They’d stopped around three am, having finally made it to the town with their next target, and mutually agreeing a confrontation should wait until the next day. Charles had been dead tired when he pulled into the only open place for miles.

There was no doubt to what kind of motel this was, but Erik had inspected the sheets and was fairly confident the staff at least changed them between clients. He and Charles had shared a rueful glance as soon as they entered the shabby lobby and saw the way the women at the desk raised her eyebrows in obvious appraisal. Erik could only imagine what had gone through her mind to make Charles blush so heavily.

Now, the smart thing to do was sleep. Erik couldn’t sleep.

He was tired but a familiar creeping feeling pricked his skin as unfamiliar shadows danced across yellowed wallpaper. Erik knew what kind of night this would be and tired or not, the last thing he wanted was to keep Charles up with his nightmares…the solution being that he wouldn’t sleep at all.

He’d done it before. Gone days without sleep until he passed out, too exhausted for his mind to conjuring familiar horrors. As it was, he was still on edge and he knew Charles was picking up on it.

Charles had left to find ice for the small bottle of scotch that he’d smuggled onto this trip. Erik had been surprised at first, but it quickly became obvious that Charles had a nightly routine. A single glass and sometimes a game of chess between them. There would be no chess tonight, but the drink was inevitable.

Erik didn’t ask. Though he strongly suspected it helped Charles relax enough to sleep without the interruption of foreign thoughts. They were on the outskirts of this little town and thoughts shouldn’t be too loud, but Erik didn’t blame him.

Erik’s eyes flickered closed, feeling out into the building and brushing past familiar structural and decorative metal until he could latch on the watch adorning Charles’s wrist. He was almost certain Charles only wore it for him now, so Erik could find him easily.

The thought made his heart swell.

He sensed Charles outside the door a moment later and soundlessly undid the lock and swung it open, just to see the smile on his face when he walked in. Charles loved any demonstration and Erik was far too proud under those bright blue eyes to stop himself.

“Alright?” Charles asked even as he walked over to the little table in the corner where his empty glass was sitting.

“Fine,” Erik murmured, watching with rapt attention.

There was something about Charles carefully pouring the amber liquid and adding two perfect pieces of ice that was distractingly charming. Of course, the moment he raised it to his lips and took a deep drink of it, proved a thousand times better.

“Erik?”

He blinked. Charles smiled softly.

Erik wasn’t used to soft. He wasn’t used to gentle smiles. He wasn’t used to the affectionate look in those glacial eyes.

“Yes?”

Those red lips pursed in consideration before he made his way across the room and slipped onto the bed with a grace that took Erik years to learn. A moment later he found Charles sitting next to him, shoulder to shoulder and offering him the glass.

“Have a drink.”

“I don’t think-”

“Trust me.”

Erik didn’t trust. It was a rule born out of blood and pain.

Charles was quickly becoming the exception to everything Erik knew.

He took the glass and twisted it around until he could place his lips exactly where Charles’s own had been a minute earlier. Those eyes locked on to the move and Erik would grin, but he knew where that would lead, and he had meant it about getting Charles to sleep tonight. Sex would have to wait.

Charles huffed, a smile spreading over his lips and Erik realized that thought must have been heard. He wasn’t embarrassed. They had been…doing whatever this was since the very first trip and he’d never been shy about sex or his need to keep Charles well rested and healthy.

“I’m not fragile you know.”

Erik sipped the drink again, “I know.”

He did. It didn’t mean he wanted to stop indulging himself when it came to Charles.

Another huff.

Erik tried to offer the glass back, but Charles shook his head, “drink all of it.”

He raised an eyebrow, “trying to get me drunk Charles?”

_No, I have a plan and it involves you finishing that glass._

_You need to sleep; we aren’t having sex tonight._

_I didn’t say we were._

Erik frowned, “then what-”

_Trust me Erik. Please._

There was no denying that pleading voice. Erik drank slowly and smiled when Charles rested his head against his shoulder. It couldn’t comfortable but he also sensed his absolute refusal to move. When he’d finally drained the glass, Erik set it on the bedside table and waited.

“Close your eyes.”

Erik stilled, “I-”

_Erik._

He closed his eyes.

“Good, deep breaths.”

He did was he was told.

_Erik?_

In his mind, tentative and oh so real. Before, mentally talking between the two of them was a gentle breeze of conversation but this felt solid, like Charles had planted himself in his mind. Erik took a deep breath, willed himself not to panic.

_I won’t hurt you or go looking where you don’t want me to._

_Ok._ He took another deep breath. _What are you doing?_

_I learned,_ Charles began matter-of-factly, _a long time ago that I can do this lovely little trick to help people whose minds won’t let them sleep._

Erik’s heart pounded.

The next words were whispered against the skin of this throat, quiet and pleading, “I can help you with the nightmares. If you want me to. Just for tonight.”

What Charles was asking went against every instinct Erik had. This was a threat, letting a telepath have free-reign of his mind like this and the things that might be seen- he bit his lip, hard. Except, there was no way Charles wasn’t aware of these thoughts and he wasn’t protesting, he was letting Erik decided uninhibited.

Erik thought about Charles’s lips on his. Thought about shared chess games. Thought about the way his heart would stop when he didn’t know where the other man was. Thought about how Charles trusted him so explicitly when the found other mutants. How they worked together and loved each other- oh.

_Yes,_ he breathed.

_Thank you._ The tone of his voice was elated and adoring and reassuring and Erik found himself leaning more heavily against Charles. He trusted him He had to. He loved him.

If Charles could hold back the nightmares for just one night…well Erik wasn’t sure what to think about the way his stomach fluttered, and his heart lurched.

He fell asleep to sunshine and green grass, to blue eyes and delighted whispers of love.


End file.
